Text DOVE to 61873 starting Monday, October 10th through Sunday, October 16th to win 2 tickets to the Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Florida Panthers game on Tuesday, October 18th @ 7:30PM and an exclusive pre-game experience. The Tampa Bay Lightning will select a winner out of the entries on Monday, 10/17/2016 by 12pm to notify. (Click here for rules)

A video making the rounds on social media shows a frank conversation between a white caller and a black guest on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal,” during which the caller asks the woman how he can stop being prejudiced against people of color.

The North Carolina man called in Sunday and spoke to Heather McGhee, the president of public policy organization Demos. In the video, McGhee can be seen nodding her head thoughtfully as the man speaks.

The unidentified man told McGhee, in part: “I’m a white male, and I am prejudiced. And the reason it is, is something I wasn’t taught but it’s kind of something that I learned.

“When I open up the papers, I get very discouraged at what young black males are doing to each other and at the crime rate. I understand that they live in an environment with a lot of drugs — you have to get money for drugs. It is a deep issue that goes beyond that. But when, I have these different fears, and I don’t want my fears to come true, you know, so I try to avoid that, and I come off as being prejudiced, but I just have fears. I don’t like to be forced to like people. I like to be led to like people through example. What can I do to change? You know? To be a better American?”

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McGhee responded by thanking the man.

“Thank you so much for being honest and for opening up this conversation, because it is simply one of the most important ones we have to have in this country,” she said. “You know, we are not a country that is united, because we are all one racial group that all descended from one tribe in one community.

“That is actually, I think, what makes this country beautiful, but it’s our challenge.”

She told the man that people of all races and backgrounds hold fears and prejudices. She said that for him to acknowledge his was “one of the most powerful things that we can do right now in this moment in our history.”

McGhee offered the man several ideas on how he could get rid of his fear of black people. She told him not to form opinions about people of color from the news, which she said over-represents crimes committed by people of color, but to get to know black families, to join a black or interracial church if he is religious and to read the history of the black community.

She also urged him to start conversations about race within his own community.

McGhee said the United States is still a very segregated country.

“Millions of white Americans live in places where they rarely see anyone of a different race,” she said. “This fear and set of ideas that we only get from the worst possible news; it’s tearing us apart.”

She said Americans must foster relationships across race, gender and age.

“We have to get to know who one another actually is. And we are always, I think, as Americans surprised when we build relationships across race,” McGhee said.

As of Wednesday, McGhee’s conversation with the man had been viewed more than 2 million times on Demos’ Facebook page. See their exchange below.

Conversations like this one between Demos President Heather McGhee and a caller striving to learn how to confront his prejudices are the key to coming together and solving problems in this country.Posted by Demos on Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Residents cleaning up their yards can start disposing of vegetative storm debris as yard waste collections begin in the unincorporated Hillsborough County Service Area, which also includes Tampa Palms, Hunter's Green, and New Tampa.

Due to the extent of storm debris created from Hurricane Irma, contracted yard debris collection will start on Monday, Sept. 18. Residents should have yard waste placed in piles along the right of way for collection by Monday, Sept. 18. Do not block access to storm water drains, utility boxes, or roadways.

As storm debris is being collected, the trucks will be working systematically throughout neighborhoods. The trucks may have to make several passes through the neighborhoods over the next several weeks due to the extent of storm damage, and to ensure the removal of all storm debris put out by residents.

County yard waste facilities are operating under extended hours, Monday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Residents must show a valid Florida driver's license to receive free yard waste disposal.

Collection will begin for residents of unincorporated Pinellas on Monday

Items picked up during curbside collection will include yard debris, and construction and demolition debris caused by the storm

As Pinellas County Public Works crews finish clearing storm debris from roads, a second phase of recovery will soon begin to collect residential storm debris in unincorporated Pinellas.

Debris contractors will begin storm debris collection from rights of way on Monday, giving residents returning home over the next few days enough time to collect and place their storm debris piles in their nearest right of way.

Residents should place their debris in sorted piles at the public right-of-way for curbside collection by debris crews. Debris will be collected and taken to a temporary storage site to ultimately be recycled or disposed of.

Residents are asked to sort debris by item type and place in separate piles. These are the specific items that can be moved to the curbside for collection:

Construction and demolition debris

Building material including roof shingles and siding

Drywall

Lumber

Carpet

Furniture

Plumbing

Vegetation Debris

Fallen tree branches and logs

Residents are asked to take the following steps to make the debris removal process easier:

Sort debris by type and place in separate piles

Do not stack debris against trees, poles, fire hydrants and storm drains

Do not place debris on sidewalks of farther back thatn 10-feet beyond the curb

Municipal residents can contact their municipality about the availability of debris pickup in their area. Residents who are uncertain if their property is located within unincorporated Pinellas or within a municipality, should visit www.pinellascounty.org/resident/unincorporated_areas.htm.

After distributing more than 335,000 sandbags in preparation for Hurricane Irma, Pinellas County encourages residents to properly recycle or dispose of their sandbags.

While the storm caused some localized flooding, widespread flooding was not an issue for most county residents. Sandbags that did not come into contact with floodwaters can be safely reused or stored.

For sandbags that did not come into contact with floodwaters:

Spread sand on lawns or landscape beds and recycle the bag or place it in your garbage.

Keep and store clean sandbags for preparation for future events.

For sandbags that have come into contact with floodwaters:

Bring used sandbags, separated from other waste to the Pinellas County Solid Waste Disposal Facility, 3095 114th Ave. N., St. Petersburg. Free of charge.

Sandbags that have come in contact with flood water can become contaminated with bacteria, produce odors and are considered dirty. The sand brought to Solid Waste will be stockpiled, tested and analyzed. All non-contaminated sand will be recovered and reused for future county projects and/or sandbag issuance.

Please do not dispose of any sand or full sandbags in your regular trash. The sand does not burn and will not convert to energy in the county’s waste-to-energy facility. Furthermore, do not mix sandbags with yard debris. The sand is abrasive and damages equipment used to grind yard debris into mulch.

For more information, please call the Department of Solid Waste at (727) 464-7500.

The Red Cross recommends that people take these three steps: (1) build a disaster kit; (2) come up with an emergency plan; and (3) be informed about how local authorities will notify you during a disaster, whether through local media or NOAA Weather Radio stations or channels.

An emergency kit should contain supplies for about three days, to include a gallon of water per person per day, non-perishable food, a flashlight and extra batteries, a first aid kit, medications and copies of important documents. Other recommended items are available at redcross.org/kit.

Talk with members of your household and create an evacuation plan. Remember family members with special medical needs, and plan how you will care for your pets.